Found the right spot for my CSS Winner Certificate

CSS Winner liked this site so much that they gave me a star for it.

“It’s our pleasure to inform you that your website has been qualified to be a part of CSS Winner’s STAR category. This also means that you’re one step ahead of nominees. The selection was done based on the submitted website’s design, usability, content as well as functionality.”

So, thank you CSS Winner. It feels good to be a winner and I have already found the right spot for my new certificate. :)

January 30th, 2019|Blog, Design|

Cinematic Electronica from Thomas Ragsdale

I’m often amazed of how easy it is nowadays to discover great new music. Back in the day before the internet you would have to rely on the reviews in a weekly or monthly magazine and then get you ass down to the local record store, hoping for a miracle that they actually had the album in question. Today you are just one click away to discover something amazing. Like this album Self Zero by Yorkshire’s Thomas Ragsdale that Spotify quite correctly assumed I would like. It was released in November last year but I just found it through Spotify’s excellent recommendation engine.

Ragsdale spent his formative years making music for TV, movies and advertising companies but gradually shifted into performing live. I would describe the style on Self Zero as Cinematic Ambient Soundscapes. I like it a lot. Check it out!

 

 

January 28th, 2019|Blog, I recommend, Music|

My latest modded Gameboy is pristine

I have been modding a lot of old Nintendo Gameboys lately, but this has to be the cleanest looking so far. Actually the shell is brand new, but it’s also old. It’s a new old stock part aka NOS, something that has been stored somewhere for all these years. It’s in original Nintendo shell from the early to mid 90’s, but it has never been used, until now.

It still has the original color, meaning there is no yellowing, the logo is not worn out and there are absolutely no scratches or any other marks. Lovely.

The usual mods was of course installed:

  • White backlight screen from Deadpan Robot, which means you can play games, produce music and perform live in complete darkness.
  • Bivert chip for improved contrast and less ghosting.
  • Brand new gray glass screen.
  • ProSound mod to the original headphone jack, for improved sound quality, louder volume and less background noise.
  • Bass Boost mod for more sub bass. The thump / bass feel area below 50hz is more prominent now. This will make your tracks kick HARD when performing live.
  • 1000 uF decoupling capacitor on the power regulator. Reduces the hiss and hum that can occur because of the backlight screen.
  • New silicon parts

 

January 27th, 2019|Blog, Gameboy, Retro|

Spotify Playlist: Chilled Beats 04

I just put together another Spotify playlist with the best chilled tracks I’m listening to at the moment.

Chilled Beats 04

Two hours of the best Deep House, Ambient Grooves and Laid Back Electronic Music, selected by me. Got some fresh tracks here from masters of laid back electronic music, like C-Jay, Apparat, Jan Blomqvist and State Azure. Enjoy, and don’t forget to hit that Follow button in Spotify.

Photo by Alexandra Marcu

 

Eurorack 101 from Intellijel

The world of Eurorack Modular Synthesizers can be very complex and I guess a bit intimidating for even a seasoned electronic musician. It really is a jungle out there, with thousands of different modules made by hundreds of companies all over the world.

What does every module do, what do I need to get started and how do I connect everything to make sounds? Valid questions indeed. I found this excellent page from the Canadian company Intellijel that explains everything you need to know.

Lots of useful information, even for someone like me that have been into this thing for a few years now.

Eurorack 101: What is a Eurorack Modular Synthesizer

January 24th, 2019|Blog, modular, Synthesizer|

I’m playing Assassins Creed Odyssey on PC

I have put in about 30 hours of game-play in Assassins Creed Odyssey but the game is so huge it feels like I only have scratched the surface. There are still many more islands to visit and I think I’m actually only at around 28% completion. Great story, world-building and I love the mediterranean atmosphere. It takes me back to my summer vacations in Spain and Greece and makes me long for the summer again.

The game feels somehow similar to Origins but even better. It’s bigger, the graphics is better, more life-like and there is a choose-your-own adventure approach where you have to select yourself what to say and how to respond. I like that you don’t always have to choose the violent option. Many times there is actually a peaceful solution to a problem, a solution that doesn’t involve a complete massacre.

As with Origins, I have of course taken the opportunity for some in-game-photography.
Here are some of my better captions so far.

 

Needwant : Kollect 2.0

I think it’s time to recommend some dance music again. I recently found this really good collection of fresh beats from London based label Needwant. The main theme is house music on the deeper side and I really like what I hear

There is a laid back vibe here that reminds me of old school Deep House, the kind you would hear in the mid- to late 90s on labels like Guidance Recordings.

House music for the perfect pre-party or when you just want to chill.

 

January 17th, 2019|Blog, I recommend, Music|

Game Boy Clear with red screen and buttons

This is my latest modded Game Boy DMG-01. It’s a Play it loud model Clear, or Skeleton as it was called in Japan when it was released in the early 90s. To get it to look like this I had to clean and then polished the inside and outside. Most of the time these old shells have become milky and yellowish with age. Fortunately it’s pretty easy to fix with ordinary plastic polish or acrylic polish as it’s sometimes called. You can probably get it in any hardware store or else on Amazon.

The red screen, buttons and the silicon parts are brand new. I also installed all the mods I usually do when refurbishing these old beauties:

Backlight for the LED-screen, Bivert chip, Prosound mod, Bass mod and 1000 uF capacitor on the power strip to minimize noise and hiss (That’s the big blue capacitor down to the left).

It’s still up for sale on E-bay but not sure for how long. These models usually go pretty quick.

 

January 15th, 2019|Blog, Gameboy, Retro|
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